The present invention relates to an interchangeable bracelet or strap system for a wristwatch.
There are several known examples of wristwatches in which the bracelet or strap thereof is secured by being pinched between two parts of the case. The bracelet may be composed of two separate parts or of two parts connected to each other by a median portion comprising an opening corresponding to the shape of the case or the shape of a portion of the case.
For example, French Patent No. 504,267 (Rubattel et Weyermann SA) describes a watch whose bracelet, consisting of a one-piece, rectangular gold band, comprises a round opening that exposes the dial, the inner edge of the opening in the bracelet being gripped between the middle of the case and an apposed bezel. Thus, the bracelet covers the entire case except for the glass and the dial. Another device of the same kind is presented in French Patent No. 1,598,983 (Ervin Piquerez). Here the bracelet does not cover the case. The edge of the central opening of the bracelet conforms to the outer shape of the case and is pinched between the middle of the case and a ring that is screwed either onto the upper portion of the middle or onto the back of the case.
Other examples, such as Swiss Patent No. 340786 (Vallon) or No. 355095 (Sorna Watch Co.), disclose bracelets formed of two separate parts with dovetail-shaped ends inserted into slots of corresponding shape provided in the middle of the case to attach the bracelet to the case. The ends of the bracelet parts are held in the slots by the case back, which is screwed on or fastened by means of detents.
The essential purpose of the above-described devices is, chiefly for esthetic reasons, to eliminate the need for prongs to fasten the bracelet.
The mounting and removal of the bracelet on or from the casexe2x80x94whether by screwing action or even by means of detentsxe2x80x94requires a key or tool and virtually must, in practice, be performed by a professional. This is all the more true since, in most of the examples cited above, removal exposes the inner workings of the watch. The known devices therefore cannot be applied to watches sold with a plurality of interchangeable bracelets, which allow the consumer to change the bracelet by himself.
There are, of course, various systems quite different from the foregoing examples that enable the user to change the bracelet easily. These include, for example, Swiss Patent No. 685464 (Le Marquand) and European Patent No. 0797132 (Bourquin and Wiser). Although these devices function satisfactorily, they nevertheless require the presence of prongs or excrescences of the same type.
The present invention provides a watch case with an interchangeable bracelet that enables the user to change the bracelet easily, without any special tools, and without it being necessary to provide the case with prongs.